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Big secret revealed. Epic moves for AmeriCommerce!

We have a secret – a big one – that we’re ecstatic to share with you.

We’re humbled as we think about our journey from a home office, to a dusty warehouse, to today’s headquarters adorned in GeekLore and pop culture posters emblazoned by the likes of Ron Burgundy, Ben Stiller, Indiana Jones, Napoleon Dynamite and an epically large 40-foot tall comic illustration of the Flash.

AmeriCommerce has been building ecommerce selling tools for businesses with spunk and spirit for more than 10 years. Against all odds as a bootstrapped and scrappy startup, we’ve landed on the Inc 5000 three times, won CODiE awards for best ecommerce software, and saw more than $4 billion dollars generated in customers’ stores. We were also the first to offer multi-store, have a solid Facebook store solution, provide a rule engine with email automation, and offer dozens of free responsive themes.

Most importantly, we’ve had the great privilege of helping awesome brands and some of the most entrepreneurial people on the planet succeed online. And for that we are truly grateful. For all 5,000-plus businesses across 20 countries who believe in us and our process, software, kooky ideas and crazy team. Despite our limitations and smaller size, you recognized we are a better fit than others in the ecommerce industry, and that belief and support helped shape AmeriCommerce into one of the most robust and feature-rich ecommerce platforms today.

We want to keep that momentum going and take AmeriCommerce to the next level. We want to do more for you! But as a self-funded small business ourselves, we can’t invest as much, take large risks or innovate as quickly as we’d like. We’ve been unable to do all the things we aspire to do that empower businesses like yours through e-commerce innovation.

And that is where our big news comes in…

One day not long ago, a bank called and asked to chat. And not just any bank – a top 10 bank. One created by an entrepreneur himself who continues to lead the company today, and one that lives and breathes small business values, technology and design. We’ve received offers from acquirers and venture capitalists in the past, but we never felt they shared our passion for ecommerce, or our vision to invest and re-invest in a better business solution that empowers the smallest businesses to challenge the biggest.

This time, we found ourselves talking to a company that shares our vision – and our chats quickly turned into fist bumps and high fives! We made immediate heart-to-heart connections and quickly felt as if we were one mind speaking the same language. Who knew! It turns out another company exists just as excited about entrepreneurs, their success, having better tools, and investing in small business! And that company is Capital One.

We can’t tell you how amazed and happy we are to be joining forces with Capital One, the perfect home to take AmeriCommerce – our products and our people – to the next level. And we think you’ll love what is to come. Capital One is looking for the best new ideas to move banking and small business forward, and they believe our team and ecommerce software will help them along that path.

By joining Capital One, we’ll become part of a team that’s passionate about innovation, collaboration and empowerment of consumers and businesses. We see a huge opportunity for our beloved customers and business owners to better manage and grow their businesses. And we believe this is a win-win-win situation where all of us -- AmeriCommerce, Capital One and our customers – succeed!

And with that, our secret is a secret no longer, and I hope you’re as excited about this as we are. And don’t worry – nothing will change with our software, your store, or the support we offer. AmeriCommerce would be nothing without its entrepreneurs, those who know how to dream big and make ideas come to life. And we are proud to continue our mission helping the world SELL STUFF!

Below you’ll find answers to questions you may have about this news – and if you have more, don’t hesitate to reach out. We love you and look forward to all the awesome things ahead!

Happy Selling!

-- Continue scrolling below for FAQ's, pictures and comments to this post.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What exactly is happening? Effective November 1st, all customer contracts will be assigned to Capital One Merchant Services Corporation.

How does this impact me? Minimally. Your customer contracts have been assigned to Capital One Merchant Services, and your invoices will come from Capital One instead of AmeriCommerce. Everything else stays the same, and in the long term, will be even better!

Will this affect my online store? No way! This acquisition will have no effect on your online store, or our holiday season, phone or email support. (We know this is an important time of year for you!)

Will AmeriCommerce Slow Down? Nope – quite the opposite. You can expect great things and awesome tools that will help you manage and market business. Get ready!

What happens to AmeriCommerce’s awesome staff? They’ll keep doing what they’re great at! Building tools to help you sell. Except now we get to do it with the support of a top 10 bank. And we’ll look forward to new faces joining our family.

What if I have more questions? Just keep sending your support requests in at supportrequest@americommerce.com or calling extension 2 at 1.800.936.9006. We’ll still have real people answering support tickets and phones.

Will I see a change on my bill? We will continue with the same pricing and terms, but your invoices will now reflect that it is payable to Capital One Merchant Services.

Wait, what? Capital One is in the ecommerce business? Yep. It surprised us too! Capital One is passionate about Small Business and is dedicated to empowering small business owners. And they’ve felt this way for a couple years. Have you checked out AmeriCommerce? It’s pretty sweet for small businesses who need a mobile payment solution and card reader to sell stuff easily and on the go!

Does this affect our servers or data center? Nope. We will continue with Rackspace as our managed data center.

Is our PCI Compliance changing? Nope. Same servers, data centers, architecture and all the same ongoing PCI Compliance measures will continue. We will continue to be secure and PCI compliant.

Does support for AmeriCommerce change? Nope. Just keep sending your support requests in at supportrequest@americommerce.com or calling extension 2 at 1.800.936.9006. We’ll still have real people answering support tickets and phones.

Holy $#%$#! That's awesome guys, congratulations!!! That's fantastic news; I guess Capital One beat me to the investment....
As an AC & Capital One customer; can you arrange for an extra % cash back on my card?
Looking forward to all the great things ahead that this new relationship brings, congrats again!

Wow, I'm speechless. That is a big accomplishment in and of itself.
This is incredibly exciting, not only for the Americommerce team, but also for all of us who rely and depend on Americommerce to provide us with the best eCommerce platform on the planet.
I have always loved how Americommerce is a champion for the "little guy". After learning more about Capital One and their commitment to small business, eCommerce, and entrepreneurship...it is obvious how important this new partnership will be.
As a customer and ambassador for Americommerce, I couldn't be happier. But I also believe this will mean great things to come for my business, my customers, and my ability to "sell stuff". Americommerce has always been quick and nimble, has added features (just-in-time), and has provided the best support in the business (trust me, I've tried them all)...but now with a little "scratch" behind them, I can only imagine what they will be able to put together.
I can't wait to see what happens, and I feel very fortunate to be a part of this now. I can always look back and say, "I remember them when...".
Congratulations to everyone, and I'd like to say "thank you" for making this happen.
Now let's go out and Sell Stuff!
T

@TravisPhipps, thanks so much! Man you speak our language! And you're right, Capital One has an amazing commitment to small business and they love our people, software, and passion! We expect great things to come!

@justinmccullough - Thanks Justin ;).
But seriously, my Capital One Spark Visa is my go-to card. With unlimited 2% cashback on all purchases I am able to eek out some extra margin on all product sales when I pay my vendors and shipping carriers with the card.
In fact, I even pay my AC bill with it.....lol

Fantastic news and congratulations to all of you. You've been an invaluable resource for me and I'm sure countless other people. I'm sure now that you've found the right partner your success will only continue. It feels like a really positive step for us small business owners!

Awesome news! I can't believe this. How did you keep this a secret for so long. I wouldn't have been able to do it. +1 for the Capital One card :), we love the cash back...we pay for everything with that sucker. Congrats to both parties!

@RobinB: Trust us, it was tough to keep such an exciting thing under wraps! We are so excited about the journey ahead. We've done so much with so little over the years, now imagine where we go from here!

Congratulations! Your hard work is paying off, not just for your company, but for your client's companies too. I've been an Americommerce customer for 4 years, and I'm looking forward to seeing what innovations are ahead under the new ownership.

@Ali: You rock!!! I hope you've been doing great, we've seen so many lightning growth stories on our platform and we're just so proud to be part of it. We dream in features (dorky but true!), so we love it when the make magic happen for the clients that have helped get us where we are!

Congratulations, @justinmccullough, @edsturrock, and the whole team! Much deserved and a really nice fit. The whole team at Affirm sends our best, and we look forward to continuing bringing great stuff to the AC community! Happy Halloween (and Giants parade day) from SF!

What a great outcome for your team and customers! Interesting play by Capital One that I'm sure will serve your stakeholders well. We look forward to watching your success accelerate and our mutual customers grow into 2015. Katie May, ShippingEasy

Congratulations! I love the site and all that you guys do! I can only imagine things are going to get even better...(but can they get any better??) I have to admit I didn't know much about Capitol One bank other than their pretty fun ad campaigns...I see you guys joined in on the viking raider "what's in your wallet?" fun at your office celebration. I see some great things ahead. Keep up the good work and the sky is the limit!

Hi guys!
No one there probably remembers me, but you've probably cursed my lack of code commenting in the Americart code. I remember the first functioning cart was 300 lines of code. That grew to 10,000 under my watch.
I'm so happy for you guys, your point is so valid about resources needed to make large projects come to fruition. I wish you all the best; these are the best times of your lives, be sure to notice as you love them.
Wayne C

More from me, I see now that I am, more clearly, the original author of Americart Classic as you call it. I've got to hand out some kudos to you. First, the way you encourage merchant feature requests and drive development off real world needs to benefit your customers. That was always my philosophy too. I'm impressed with the way you made platform transition seamless for Americart Classic merchants. And the hard hard work you guys have done, coding all the payment gateways and shipping Apis and on and on. Anyone who reads this, rest assured that these guys are indeed the champions of small business. The work they have done here, for YOU, the small business owner, is staggering. These folks must write code in their sleep. Americart Classic had their first paid customer in 1996 by the way, so in a way your company is coming up on twenty years of continuous service, an amazing feat, isn't it?

That is terrific news. I can only imagine where this will take you guys. You are already champions of the world in my book...I guess you are now going for champions of the universe...but why stop there?